This will probably be a quiet week in Holtville after the 10 days of Carrot Festival activities. Holtville’s Chamber of Commerce Manager Dana Hawk-Gularte and Mary Helen Dollente, handled things beautifully.
The Soroptimist sponsored five-day cooking contests were exciting for all ages. There were many tasty entries from children to grandparents. Many of our local snowbirds regularly visited the contests.
Dale and Audrey Snapper, of Everson, Wash., have been coming to Holtville for 12 years. Audrey entered the contest two or three times, and once received first place in the bread category with “Six-Week Muffins.”
Audrey is a homemaker and Dale is retired as a refinery operator for British Petroleum. In their retirement they serve as Red Cross volunteers. One of their last assignments was in October after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast.
Ellen Underwood, of Holtville, won this year’s Sweepstakes Cooking Contest with “Caribbean Gold Carrot Cake.” She is no stranger to the contest having won sweepstakes two other times. The other wins were also for her delicious cakes: “Hoping for a Husband Cake,” and “A Little bit of Heaven.” This year’s recipe came out of the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook to which she added an orange/lemon filling.
The night of the sweepstakes several former winners were present: Barbara Pfister, Danna Romo and Bill Livsey, president of the Chamber of Commerce. Sylvia Golby, of Alberta, Canada, was also there. She took second place twice.
Although sprinkles were predicted, we had a beautiful, cool day for Saturday’s parade. My sister Louise and I, and a couple of family members, had a perfect spot for our folding chairs right in front of the newly painted NAPA Auto & Truck Parts store. We were right on the curb with a perfect view of the parade. The best part was seeing the many former city residents in town for the festival. A few of the visitors included Sam and Pat Sharp who still consider Holtville their “hometown,” former City Manager Karen Stauffer, and Sparky and Connie Hefner all the way from Cimarron, Kan. The Hefner’s are classmates of the wonderful Holtville High School class of 1952!
Parade Marshall Louise Bonham, 91, and several members of her family, rode in the parade. These included her daughter Barbara Nilson, granddaughter Sara Brown and her husband, Lance, and their daughter Peyton Louise. Grandson Paul Nilson and fiancé Christine De La Cruz were also in the horse-drawn wagon.
Mrs. Bonham was happy to get to ride in the parade. For 21 years she walked the parade route with her Finley Elementary School students. She has not been idle in her retirement. She taught many residents of Turning Point Men’s Home how to read, and how to study and memorize the Bible. She has also been active with the Friends of the Library, and her many church-related activities.
Jason Turner, Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, joined a distinguished group of citizens earning this honor. He is the son of Rick and Nancy Turner. One of the nomination letters described him as “always being there to help the community. His generosity definitely reflects back on the community in a big way. Without Jason’s kindness and support, many of our children would not have the opportunity to participate in youth sports.”
Each year there seem to be fewer horses in the parade. That has to be a good thing for the parade marchers, but I miss them. We had beautiful Cattle Call Queen Kristen Sharp, of Holtville, and her court; eight Border Patrol agents on horseback and a couple of other small groups and single riders.
There were many great floats. As usual, Highline Cooling had a beautiful float made of vegetables. Its float and the Vessey Co. float were Rose Parade-worthy. The Vessey’s had a rainbow covering huge vegetables and a miniature of downtown Holtville.
The Iten, Ornelas and Moreno families were thrilled to win the Dia de La Familia Cook-Off on Sunday with carnitas. First place was $1,000.
Although it was a gem of a parade, I would like to suggest that in the future every entry be obliged to use carrots. After all, it is the Carrot Festival Parade!
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